Cooperation in Man and Nature

The Right make so much of competition, and it’s true, we are very competitive creatures, but we also like to cooperate which each other just as much, if not more so. In fact, one of our distinguishing features is not just our intelligence, but also the way we that we closely work with each other and in this way great our civilisations are made. But what drives this? Is it our need to fit in, to be accepted, and to be a valued part of our community, or our tribe back in the olden days?

 

United we stand, divided we fall.

 

Research shows that when we help others we are at our most happiest.

 

Though economists and grumps have long argued to the contrary, many spiritual traditions teach us that, at our core, we are loving, generous, and kind. Recent research confirms this idea. Michael Tomasello and other scientists at the prestigious Max Planck Institute have found that even infants too young to have been conditioned by the conventions of politeness will automatically engage in helpful behavior. Research conducted by Dale Miller at the Stanford Business School shows that adults, too, are instinctively driven to help others. The difference between children and adults is that adults will often restrain themselves from this natural instinct because they are concerned with what others will think. We hesitate to follow our natural instinct to be loving, generous, and kind because we fear others will believe we are acting out of selfish motivation. And, of course, we may fear the same thing — that our natural drives to be helpful are secretly selfish — and so we hold back. Are we being selfish? Should we restrain ourselves?

 

http://spiritualityhealth.com/articles/indulging-totally-selfish-joys-selfless-giving

 

Why Humans Are Hard-Wired to Be Selfless, Not Selfish

 

New research shows that not only do humans have a generosity gene, but there’s a biological basis for why giving feels good. Author Elizabeth Svoboda explains.

 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x13zgro_why-humans-are-hard-wired-to-be-selfless-not-selfish_lifestyle

 

The libertarians say that we our all just selfish, and that we like to help others only because it gives us pleasure. In other words, it’s selfishness that drives us to be selfless. Now that’s very Ayn Rand-ian. Hmmm, but that would be about being selfish when it is really about ‘not being selfish’ that actually gives us pleasure? Maybe the libertarians think like this because they don’t have that much empathy.

 

What drove me to write this is that I have a problem with my phone right now and so I went on YouTube to see if there was anything I could do about it, and gee, the amount of people there all showing me how to repair my phone. In fact, a few years back I needed to repair the cistern in my bathroom and I was quite nervous about it because it meant stripping the whole toilet down as it was a close coupled system. But wow, would you believe it, not only where their loads of videos on this that people had made, there was also one where the guy there went into every pit fall and problem you could possibly think of. He also recommended that I replace the siphon with a newer type that can be undone easily to change the flap valve in future without needing to strip the whole toilet down again. With that, I felt far more confident about doing the job.

 

I program my own music on my PC using Cubase but I’m a novice and the software is very complicated, but no problem, I can just go onto YouTube and there are loads of people there showing me how to program my gear well as all my synths. Some people have patches and music samples they want to sell, but most just do it because they enjoy it (being selfless and helping others, that is). Occasionally I might come across someone who has put in a lot of hard work but no one has written anything underneath their video yet. And so I always give big thanks and they usually reply back saying they’re glad they were able to help me. And that’s nice. Connection!

 

The other day my car had a flat battery and I thought, oh no, what a load of hassle, and I’m so tired, and I just want to get home? But along came this black guy and he told what to do, and I put my car into first gear but he said no and told me to put it into second (we have mainly have manual gearboxes in the UK).  Then he pushed my car and at the right moment he told me to take my foot off the clutch, and wow, it started and off I went. I tried to wave and I don’t know if he saw me, but I saw him waving in the distance. That was such a nice moment too, connection!

 

Now I can’t find the documentary that was made by some liberal minded biologists who said that not all of nature is about competition and then they went on to show how the plant kingdom works together to create a high quality biosphere for them all to live in. Some plants grow tall and get lots of sunlight and the nutrients they make then get put into the soil. And other plants have roots that go deep into the ground which bring nutriments up to the surface. All the plants have their own unique way of contributing to the biosphere, and so cooperation is as much a part of nature as competition.  

 

This documentary below is also superb which is about the peaceful Bonobo apes. I’ve never been all keen on monkeys and chimpanzees up until I saw this, but these little creatures are lovely. They look like chimpanzees but are not closely related to them having split away from a common ancestor a very long time ago. We share many of our genes with the Bonobo’s which give both of us our kinder, gentler side. The Bonobo's live in the inner, deep part of the jungle where not many creatures can survive and so they have less competition for food which means they are very gentle and relaxed, which leaves them with plenty of time for their favourite pastime, having lots of sex. What a life, hey!

Bonobo Ape - Our Closest Relative (Nature Documentary, Full Length)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbv4DrXbmAo